Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 728 - 729 

JOSEPH T. HAMMERS, an old-time agriculturist of large experience, and a successful stock-raiser of the earlier days, is now numbered among the elderly residents of Clearwater, by whose people he is held in that reverence and respect tacitly accorded those whose lives have been distinguished by integrity and usefulness.

             A native of the old reliable State of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hammers was born March 16, 1814, in Greene County, at the modest homestead of his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Hanna) Hammers, who were also natives of the Keystone State. On the father's side, the family comes from a long line of excellent German ancestry, while the mother's people were originally from Wales.

             The subject of this history was reared to manhood in his native State, where he became familiar with farming pursuits and received a limited education, enjoying advantages far inferior to those of the present generation. When twenty-two years of age he established domestic ties of his own, by his marriage, on the 21st of April, 1836, with Miss Phebe T. Evans, who was also born in Greene County, Dec. 18, 1819. Mrs. Hammers was married in the same house where she was born, and is the daughter of George and Lydia (Brice) Evans, the former of Welsh and English descent and the latter of pure Welsh ancestry.

             The paternal grandfather of our subject, Peter Hammers by name, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and Grandfather Robert Hanna, on the mother's side, also assisted the Colonists in their struggle for independence by shouldering his musket and fighting until this was accomplished. The Hammers family were a long-lived race. The parental household of our subject included seven children, all of whom grew to mature years; but three are now living: Mrs. Elizabeth Hartley, of Taylor County, Iowa; Joseph T., of our sketch, and Samuel, of Ohio Township, this county.

             Mr. Hammers left his native State in the spring of 1850, and halted in Woodford County, Ill., among the pioneers, with whom he resided until the spring of 1875, settling on a tract of prairie land, which he brought to a good state of cultivation, and where he effected many improvements. Upon crossing the Mississippi in the year mentioned he took up his residence in this county, where he has since remained and fulfilled all the obligations of an honest man and a good citizen, tilling the soil, assisting in the progress and development of his township, and being recognized by his fellow-citizens as a valued accession to their midst.

             Our subject while in Illinois served as Justice of the Peace in Woodford County, and here has been Trustee of Ninnescah Township, and one of the most prominent members of the Baptist Church. He is a Republican, politically, and stands up for his principles with all the natural strength and decision of his character. Socially he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. His operations as a dealer and shipper of live stock commenced in 1884. He is the head of the firm of J. T. Hammers & Sons, who conduct the only meat-market of Clearwater, and he is also interested in the livery stable there, besides overseeing the operations of nearly a full section of land, which is mostly in a good state of cultivation and forms a rich range for his herds of cattle.

             To Mr. and Mrs. Hammers there were born nine children, five of whom are living, namely : George, of Sumner County, this State; Mary H., the wife of P. H. Tompkins, of Clearwater; Joseph B. ; Phebe; the wife of Isaac L. Skinner, and Benjamin B., all residents of Clearwater. The wife and mother departed this life on the 22d of January, 1885, after having been the faithful and affectionate companion of her husband for a period of nearly fifty years. Her name is held in tender remembrance by her family and a large circle of friends.

             Benjamin B. Hammers, the youngest son of our subject, is manager and part proprietor of the livery stable at Clearwater. He was born in Woodford County, Ill., in 1850, and came with his father to this county in 1875. He had been married in his native State, Feb. 9, 1871, to Miss Rosa Brown, who is a native of Ohio, and was born June 4, 1851. She was reared in McLean County, Ill., to which her parents, Elijah and Rebecca Brown, had removed soon after her birth. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Hammers have four children -- Pearl B., Willie, Francis M. and Jay T. They are members in good standing of the Baptist Church. Benjamin Hammers, politically, is a solid Republican, a young man of much intelligence and force of character, and a member of the Village Council of Clearwater.

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